Who gets to decide?

I'm in the fortunate position of having a pretty cool family: my mom and siblings are all nice humans who I like (not to mention love) a lot, and my husband is absolutely amazing.

Everybody in this group knows that (1) I don't want long-term measures taken to keep my vital signs going if I'm no longer conscious....unplug me, dammit, and let the husk go; (2) there isn't any place in particular I want to have the remains interred...let Mike decide where to stick the jar; and (3) don't do the heavy-duty embalming thing or bury me in a $5K casket plush enough that many third world citizens would like to have it as an apartment. Let's be real. A pine box and high heat is just fine.

My family won't be doing a tug-of-war thing with Mike over where it all goes down. If Mike wants to inter my remains in a cemetery or cave or whatever in Massachusetts, that's fine. This is home, after all. (Actually, home is where Mike is.) If someone wants the body for some useful purpose (not including Halloween parties, please), Mike knows that's fine, too. I won't be needing it anymore.

No, I'm not feeling particularly mortal.

I've just read the continuing saga of troubled Anna Nicole Smith's body, and her estranged mother's battle to truck the corpse back to Texas for burial in "the family plot."

And I'm pretty appalled that this woman is insisting that her daughter's wishes shouldn't mean anything here, and that she's dragging this through court while the corpse rots. (And it is literally rotting -- the hearing was, apparently, interrupted by a call from the ME's office saying the body needed to get in the ground by Saturday because of continued deterioration.)

See, if you buy a burial plot near where your home is, this is a pretty good indication that that's where you want to be buried.

Please send this woman packing back to Texas.

Who gets to decide?

I'm in the fortunate position of having a pretty cool family: my mom and siblings are all nice humans who I like (not to mention love) a lot, and my husband is absolutely amazing.

Everybody in this group knows that (1) I don't want long-term measures taken to keep my vital signs going if I'm no longer conscious....unplug me, dammit, and let the husk go; (2) there isn't any place in particular I want to have the remains interred...let Mike decide where to stick the jar; and (3) don't do the heavy-duty embalming thing or bury me in a $5K casket plush enough that many third world citizens would like to have it as an apartment. Let's be real. A pine box and high heat is just fine.

My family won't be doing a tug-of-war thing with Mike over where it all goes down. If Mike wants to inter my remains in a cemetery or cave or whatever in Massachusetts, that's fine. This is home, after all. (Actually, home is where Mike is.) If someone wants the body for some useful purpose (not including Halloween parties, please), Mike knows that's fine, too. I won't be needing it anymore.

No, I'm not feeling particularly mortal.

I've just read the continuing saga of troubled Anna Nicole Smith's body, and her estranged mother's battle to truck the corpse back to Texas for burial in "the family plot."

And I'm pretty appalled that this woman is insisting that her daughter's wishes shouldn't mean anything here, and that she's dragging this through court while the corpse rots. (And it is literally rotting -- the hearing was, apparently, interrupted by a call from the ME's office saying the body needed to get in the ground by Saturday because of continued deterioration.)

See, if you buy a burial plot near where your home is, this is a pretty good indication that that's where you want to be buried.

Please send this woman packing back to Texas.

Well, now, *that* was tasty

Even though I was sitting there writing things down and making sure to manage the cash handling at the Mike Ford memorial auction, I felt no embarrassment in bidding on and taking home two Advance Reading Copies of books by people whose writing I very much like: $88 for Ken MacLeod's forthcoming (June) The Execution Channel, and John Scalzi's The Last Colony, which I got for $100, and which will be out in late April.

John very kindly personalized the ARC for me (it was pre-signed) when I stopped by his autographing line to introduce myself. :-) Nice man, he is.

And nice book, it was. Very, very tasty.

Mike, who read it first, grumbled about all the good stuff "starting after the book ends," but I found it completely satisfying. I like his characters, and I like the way they think.

And, if some people are nice to me, they can borrow it.

I'm saving the MacLeod for the weekend, probably. After all the papers are graded.

Okay, granted that was a lot of money for two as-yet-unreleased books, but I'd planned to donate money, anyway, so felt no remorse.

Well, now, *that* was tasty

Even though I was sitting there writing things down and making sure to manage the cash handling at the Mike Ford memorial auction, I felt no embarrassment in bidding on and taking home two Advance Reading Copies of books by people whose writing I very much like: $88 for Ken MacLeod's forthcoming (June) The Execution Channel, and John Scalzi's The Last Colony, which I got for $100, and which will be out in late April.

John very kindly personalized the ARC for me (it was pre-signed) when I stopped by his autographing line to introduce myself. :-) Nice man, he is.

And nice book, it was. Very, very tasty.

Mike, who read it first, grumbled about all the good stuff "starting after the book ends," but I found it completely satisfying. I like his characters, and I like the way they think.

And, if some people are nice to me, they can borrow it.

I'm saving the MacLeod for the weekend, probably. After all the papers are graded.

Okay, granted that was a lot of money for two as-yet-unreleased books, but I'd planned to donate money, anyway, so felt no remorse.

What is the role of the judge?

According to the Judicial Ethics Handbook (quoting an older document) a judge has a four-fold responsibility: "A judge should (1) hear courteously (2) answer wisely (3) consider soberly (4) decide impartially."

The courtroom is about the people there to resolve disputes, and about coming to justice. It is not about providing a venue for a jurist's self-aggrandizement.

Well, at least that's the case most places in the U.S. It is not evident, however, from national coverage of one Broward County courthouse. As CNN's coverage notes,

CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin sharply criticized Seidlin for allowing lawyers to squabble for days followed by dramatic but marginally relevant testimony.

"This may be the most ridiculous legal proceeding I have ever watched," Toobin said. "This judge is one of the least competent judges I have ever seen. He is letting this thing meander all over creation, mostly because he seems to enjoy being on television."

Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom says it's all "wearing a little thin."

Closer to home, Seidlin also has critics. According to the Miami Herald, 22 percent of the lawyers responding to the 2004 Broward County Bar poll found Seidlin unqualified.

A blog of the Justice Advocacy Association of Broward concludes that Seidlin is, among other things, a victim of "his inner comedian."

Rarely have I seen such public vilification of a jurist. And it seems so well deserved...

What is the role of the judge?

According to the Judicial Ethics Handbook (quoting an older document) a judge has a four-fold responsibility: "A judge should (1) hear courteously (2) answer wisely (3) consider soberly (4) decide impartially."

The courtroom is about the people there to resolve disputes, and about coming to justice. It is not about providing a venue for a jurist's self-aggrandizement.

Well, at least that's the case most places in the U.S. It is not evident, however, from national coverage of one Broward County courthouse. As CNN's coverage notes,

CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin sharply criticized Seidlin for allowing lawyers to squabble for days followed by dramatic but marginally relevant testimony.

"This may be the most ridiculous legal proceeding I have ever watched," Toobin said. "This judge is one of the least competent judges I have ever seen. He is letting this thing meander all over creation, mostly because he seems to enjoy being on television."

Court TV anchor Lisa Bloom says it's all "wearing a little thin."

Closer to home, Seidlin also has critics. According to the Miami Herald, 22 percent of the lawyers responding to the 2004 Broward County Bar poll found Seidlin unqualified.

A blog of the Justice Advocacy Association of Broward concludes that Seidlin is, among other things, a victim of "his inner comedian."

Rarely have I seen such public vilification of a jurist. And it seems so well deserved...